13 February 2007

Sufficient time has passed for me to collect my thoughts and links about last Friday’s children’s-lit cocktail parties in New York.

First I went to the SCBWI conference’s gathering for faculty and volunteers. There I collected enough food to make a meal, introduced author Robie H. Harris to author Linda Sue Park, and managed to not to soak anybody in Diet Coke.

Just outside that ballroom I met Monica Edinger, who was heroically holding herself together against a germ attack; Roxanne Hsu Feldman, a fellow Cybils Fantasy/Sci Fi judge; and fuse8nik Betsy Bird. At one point I went looking for someone who was looking for me. I took a step back inside the ballroom and hit that proverbial “wall of sound.” Until then I hadn’t realized quite how painful it was. AND HOW I MUST HAVE BEEN SHOUTING AT MONICA.

Betsy bundled Roxanne and me into a cab headed west to Ninth Avenue and the KidLit party she’d helped to arrange at Bar Nine, the bar with a website far more complex than it deserves. There the chatter was already at high volume while the room remained at low volume. I’d promised California illustrator David Diaz that this gathering would be the equivalent of the hot tub at SCBWI Summer’s conferences; given the number of people crammed into a small warm space, I think I was right.

There were also other interesting people whose names didn’t stick with me even though I enjoyed chatting about customized online publishing for kids, hospital administration in Maine, the New York city subway system, and other complex topics. The conversation remained at a Silver City-like roar, so introductions came across like this.

Nice woman: Hi, Jo#¢§, I'm ¶¥†ƒth º∞££¢w8ell™£ Bar∂ßåaw.

Me: Hello,...Ellen? I’m happy to meet you.

Nice woman: ≠∆¬∆µç≈ §∞∂å∑i§÷¶leßªm and I ¶ªå™∑@rstwhi^7 }O∂å‰ÍÅÔ∆∆ on ¥$∞7‡6=•.

Me: Ha ha! I mean, I’m so sorry. I mean, really?

That nice woman turned out to be Ruth McNally Barshaw, author-illustrator and cartoon chronicler of such conferences. She was telling me we’d met online years ago, which I certainly recalled. (I always remember people who can draw, usually with envy.) To make the intros a little easier, I’d kept my dorky conference name tag around my neck, but it’s hard for a tall guy to bend down and stare at other people’s chests.

There are evocative photos of the night online from Massachusetts artist Barbara Johansen Newman, Galleycat, and the 2K7 Blog. I’ve even seen two photos of me, but you’ll have to search all the links to find them.

About the Author

J. L. BELL is a writer and reader of fantasy literature for children. His favorite authors include L. Frank Baum, Diana Wynne Jones, and Susan Cooper. He is an Assistant Regional Advisor in the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and was the editor of Oziana, creative magazine of the International Wizard of Oz Club, from 2004 to 2010.

Living in Massachusetts, Bell also writes about the American Revolution at Boston 1775.